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Topic: 2" Clayton Power Wagon (Read 11967 times)

Hi Mark,Those tyres really look great, to say nothing of those wheels! I've had the build article for this so long that I don't think they will come out of the plastic slip pockets! Anyway just checked them out the updates for the steering are in M.E. 3814, 3944, 3946, 3948, why the big gap I don't know. There was also an update for the engine to make it more authentic, issues 3918, 3920, 3922, 3924, 3926, 3944, seem to remember its a bit of a trick to make.I've got a bit of 8" tube that would make a great boiler for an upscaled version............mmmmmmm NO must be good train first!

Before I started this part of the project I knew what a differential did, I just never thought about how it worked…. After a little study time I now realize there are a lot of ways to make a differential. I have not yet learned how to make gears so I bought some that would need to be modified a little. They are brass and I hope they will work. If not I will need to make my own someday from steel.

The axle was turned from a 1.5" x 18" piece of steel and my modified ring gears were soldered in place. The carrier for the pinion gears I made from aluminum and the sprocket was store bought and made to fit the carrier. Once assembled the gears were a tad bit stiff and lumpy so I put the assembly on a lathe and dabbed a little 600 grid lapping compound on the gears. A few minutes at 28 RPM and the gears were running butter smooth.

After everything was made and fitted, I "Parkerized" (got it right this time) the steel parts. The hubcaps I made from steel and then copper plated them. I think I will add a bronze plating bucket to my collection and bronze plate them before I'm through. The wheel is held in place by a ring with a pin through it. The pin is retained by the hubcap. And the hubcap is held in place by a very thin magnet. It takes a lot of effort to pull the hubcap off.

Next I will show the frame and the springs and put what I have built so far all together.

Mark T

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Some times it's better to keep quiet and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.

Spring happened and I have not been as active in the shop of late. But here is an update on the Clayton project.

The model's design plan called for mild steel "fake" springs. I wanted real springs so I used spring steel. It is still very stiff so I made the rear springs with three leafs active for a soft suspension and the rest come into play as an overload set. Like the rest of the running gear the finish is Parkerized and oiled.

The engine has been rather difficult but I have finally gotten the lower end completed and turning over smoothly. This is my third engine and I have learned to make my parts a tight fit and then lap them to perfection. I lapped my ass off on this one. The crankcase is made of mild steel sheet soldered together. I used a 70 percent tin and 30 percent lead solder to assemble and then followed up with a lower melting temp solder to seal up all joints, this is a wet crankcase. That part went fine and the case is very robust. All the internal parts are of mild steel with bronze bushings and blocks. The plan showed an assembled crankshaft but I went with a solid one piece unit. The crank was turned from a 1.5 inch square stock "4130". After removing most of the material I let it sit for a few days to settle down before doing the final turn. (The black stuff on crankshaft in the photo is from some electrical tape that secured the Jacks between the webs) Getting all the linkages for the joy valve system to clear one another was a real job. I spent more time fiddling with the parts than I did making them. The three gears that will power the water pump's eccentric were salvaged from an old optical scanner. On my next project I want to learn to cut gears (thinking about making a Minnie Traction Engine). I'm going for a gnarly looking old engine so I copper plated the crankcase and aged the copper and bronze parts. I now have all the top end parts cast in bronze but I need to do the cylinder block over, it has a lot of porosity. The top end should be little or no problem so my mind is wandering off thinking about the boiler.

I painted the frame with an etching primer. I liked the color so I top coated it with a spray on polyurethane.

My next update will have a video of the engine running on air "I hope"

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Some times it's better to keep quiet and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.

Hi Mark, that is a very intersting and also fascinating build report. A lot to learn and understand. The suspension and also the rest of the chassis and engine are looking great. Thanks for sharing it.

That is actually an Atkinson Steam Wagon also built in Britain. It is also a unique survivor of this make.It was repatriated by Tom Varley many years ago, along with many other rare steam wagons that were languishing in the Australian outback.

I keep wondering if a full size Clayton undertype wagon will ever be discovered.